


Love Game

by ALCzysz17



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Darcy head over heels for Bucky, F/M, Nat's in the way, One-Sided Attraction, Romance, proving love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 13:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11692581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALCzysz17/pseuds/ALCzysz17
Summary: Darcy blurts that she loves Bucky to his face, he states that no one could love him so she is out to prove him wrong. In the process she falls even more for him and finds rivalry along the way. Will Bucky believe her? Or will a certain someone get in the way of Darcy's love for Bucky?





	Love Game

**Author's Note:**

> This plot bunny came out of nowhere, I just spent four hours straight writing it with no stopping. I hope y'all like it, please excuse any misspellings and other grammar errors, it's two in the morning and I am too tired to read over it.

 

Darcy didn’t know how it happened, one second he was just Bucky who she was helping mentally and emotionally and bringing him out of his shell as a personal request from Steve then out of nowhere she was sucker punched by the fact that she was in love with him. It had been gradual, so much so that she was surprised when she lightly shoved Bucky’s arm at some stupid joke he said just a moment before she couldn’t help but say, “That’s why I love you so much.”

They both froze instantly. Darcy felt her face explode in heat as embarrassment settled over her; she wearily looked over to evaluate Bucky’s face. He was already in his ‘no emotion’ mask though his eyes bore into her own before glancing away with a shrug. “No you don’t,” Bucky said bluntly, looking down to the floor instead of her face. Darcy huffed at his dismissal.

“No, actually I do. I love you, Bucky Barnes,” Darcy stated heatedly, pushing away any of her earlier embarrassment. He scoffed at her confession, not even bothering to look at her when he replied back, “I don’t believe you, no one could seriously love me.”

“What do I have to do to prove it to you?” Darcy asked as she dropped her hands onto her hips, bowing her head to the side to try and catch his gaze. His jaw was set in a stubborn line as he avoided her eyes, she noticed his hands clenched into fists then finally he looked up from the ground.

“There’s nothing you can do or say that will prove otherwise,” Bucky then turned away from her to stomp away. At first tears welled in her eyes then she pushed them back as her own stubbornness came out, “I’ll prove it to you, Bucky! Every damn day I will!” Darcy shouted out to him, watching as his shoulders tensed up but he kept walking.

It was then that the love game began.

Darcy did everything she could to prove to Bucky that she loved him, that he was able to be loved and definitely capable of love too. It was the little things she did, making sure to have his coffee ready for him in the morning (the more and more that he became Bucky and less Winter Soldier, the more they realized he was not a morning person), hiding chocolate bars in his locker when he was done training, listening to him when they talked (that wasn’t such a hardship considering that was how they became friends) and always baking him a special treat, just for him.

She went out of her way to include him in everything at the compound as long as Steve hadn’t already. Darcy never disclosed that she loved Bucky to anyone else but him though she was sure many people speculated, Steve most of all. Natasha would have too, but she was gone on a long uncover mission and she wasn’t sure when the Black Widow would be back.

Bucky seemed to take everything in stride, looking rather appreciative but otherwise shrugged her off with appointed looks that stated he didn’t believe her still. It only pushed her harder to prove to him that it was true. Jane was the one who noticed the strain she was putting herself under though.

“Darcy, are you okay? You look stressed which is saying something because I noticed,” Jane stated as she pointed to herself, a concerned expression on her face.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Jane! Never better!” Darcy chirped overly cheerfully when on the inside she was full of turmoil. Three weeks full of putting her absolute best into proving to Bucky that she loved him and he rebuffed every single one. She was starting to feel dishearten by it, but she knew that Bucky was still working through things in his mind.

It was only a matter of breaking that stubbornness in him.

“If you need to talk about anything at all…you know you can come to me…right?” Jane asked gently, placing a hand on Darcy’s shoulder for reassurance. She smiled at the gesture, reaching up to squeeze the other woman’s hand and smiled at her.

“Of course,” Darcy agreed then continued her planning while Jane went back to her work.

Another week of trying and failing came and went, but she was noticing that her efforts were somewhat paying off. Bucky started giving her more considering looks than before, his smile was easier to come by when she spied him finding a chocolate bar in his locker, and he sought her out more often than before as well. The strain that was placed on her was slowly slipping away.

Then it happened…

Natasha came back and things changed. Darcy knew there was a complicated history between Nat and Bucky; he hadn’t told her much aside from training her in the ‘Red Room’, but what he left unsaid spoke volumes to her. Sometimes she noticed before Natasha left that the woman would stare at Bucky as though hoping for something that wasn’t there. She didn’t interact with him much in the beginning, but now every time Darcy would seek Bucky out Nat was not far behind him. At first it meant nothing to her, she continued to do what she had been doing for weeks in her quest to prove to Bucky that she truly loved him.

Then one morning she came into the communal kitchen to prepare Bucky’s coffee and Nat was there…with Bucky, talking and drinking coffee. Darcy clamped her lips together to keep from frowning at the sight; Bucky looked up to her and gave her a tiny smile that set her pulse racing and a flutter in her chest. It was only one morning, nothing else. Then the next morning it was the same, Nat beat her to the kitchen and coffee for Bucky. Suddenly it was becoming a pattern and it started to eat away at her heart.

No worries, she thought, morning coffee wasn’t the only thing she did for him.

Things got even more shook up when Bucky was re-evaluated and considered ready to be put on the roster of heroes. Bucky had found her then (Nat less) to let her know, Darcy was both happy and scared for him but instead of voicing any of her misgivings about the whole thing she just flung herself at him. Her arms wrapped around tightly around his neck with her cheek lightly brushing his as he much more slowly wrapped his arms around her back to keep her pulled into his chest. It was nice, it felt amazing and if she had a choice she would have stayed there forever. A coughing forced them apart, Bucky pulling away so quickly she was left cold once his heat receded. Nat stood by the door way, arms crossed with a smirk on her lips.

She came to tell him that she wanted to train, must always be prepared, yada, yada, yada. Darcy waved Bucky bye and tried not to feel bitter towards the Black Widow for disrupting their moment.

It only got worse from there. Bucky was hardly around now, with Clint on indefinite leave they needed Bucky more than ever for his sharp shooting skills. He spent more long missions that lasted between two days to two weeks and more times than not were accompanied by Natasha. Darcy felt a little sick as she witnessed some of the interaction between the two when she did find Bucky. Nat clearly wanted to rekindle what they once had; Bucky was reluctant much like he didn’t believe she loved him. She didn’t want to get in Nat’s way but they had their time, Darcy wanted to be with Bucky.

I love him more, she shouted in her mind when once more she found Bucky with Nat in toll. The chocolate bars were piling up in his locker, her baked goods were going stale and she hardly ever got to talk with him anymore. The strain of trying to prove her love was quickly replaced with the strain of never seeing him. More and more she started feeling ill-will towards Nat.

Finally though, after forever it seemed Darcy was able to nab Bucky before Nat could. It was a day off for her and him, and she intended for them to spend the day together. She had found this awesome pizza place in the nearby town along with one of the theaters showing a one-day showing of some movie Bucky loved seeing back in the day. She got tickets for it and couldn’t wait to surprise him with them.

Darcy was in the process of shoving Bucky into his room to quickly get dressed so they could head out for their day of fun when trouble came along. Natasha appeared out of nowhere (her specialty).

“Darcy,” she greeted then turned her eyes to Bucky, “Bucky, we’re needed for a mission.” Darcy couldn’t stop the groan from escaping her lips.

“Can’t they use someone else, we have plans!” Darcy explained, feeling the tickets burning in her pocket as everything was falling apart. Natasha did look apologetic when she said, “No.”

“Sorry, Darce. I promise we’ll hang out all day. Just you and me,” Bucky promised, reaching out to grasp one of her hands, giving it a squeeze before he was off with Nat.

Watching him walk away with the other woman hurt, it hurt so much because it felt like all her hard work was worth nothing in the end. She understood the importance of any mission, but why did it always have to be when she wanted to spend time with him? Why did it always involve Natasha? Her vision got slightly blurry as tears welled up in her eyes, next time, she thought…next time…

Next time came two weeks later, they didn’t have much planned so Darcy cooked pizza in her oven and they binge watched a series on Netflix together. It was during this time that they were able to talk like they once had before everything started going to shit. Bucky was much more open than before, telling her more and more things he remembered from his earlier life. One of those things was about his sister, Rebecca.

“My Ma had this locket, came from our grandma and her grandma…passed down through the generations to Becky,” Bucky said as they sat across from each other on her couch. His eyes were gazed over as he relived long lost memories. Darcy wanted nothing more than to pull him in her arms and cuddle him, she never wanted to let go. “I was able to trace Becky’s lineage, she had a son and he had a son, but he died before continuing the line. I just wish I could find that locket.”

“What does it look like? Maybe I could try finding it?” Darcy offered, sitting up at attention. The vulnerability in his voice tore at her heart, once more wanting to cuddle him was strong. Bucky shook his head, smiling sadly at her.

“Don’t worry about it, Darce. It’s long gone by now,” he waved her off, taking a bite out of a slice of pizza. Darcy frowned, her lips going into a stubborn line.

“No, seriously, tell me what it looks like,” she demanded sternly, arms crossing over her chest. Bucky arched at brow, chewing slowly to take his time for a response. “It’d be a waste of your time,” he finally said once he swallowed.

Darcy shrugged, “It’s my time to waste.”

So Bucky told her what it looked like, she wrote it down in her phone so she wouldn’t forget even approaching Steve the very next day asking him about it and getting him to draw what it looked like from both her writing and his memory. Darcy felt good having a mission of her own; she felt if she found this one item it would prove to Bucky once and for all that she truly loves him. He couldn’t deny it anymore.

She spent her nights searching the internet, going through sites upon sites, breaking into networks and servers (which was not legal in the lest), and contacting various people who were once Shield to help her find that locket. Sharon Carter was a very valuable asset to her search, it helped to narrow things down for her and low and behold she found something that she was sure was the locket, still in Brooklyn. Darcy couldn’t contain her happiness, she forced Jane to get her a day off and took one of the various cars in the garage to head out to Brooklyn to be sure it was the locket.

It was a little pawn shop where she found it, she looked it over and over to be sure that it was it and from what Bucky had remembered and Steve’s rendition it was most certainly it. There was one more thing to distinguish this locket as it from all copies. The locket was oval shaped, sliver with beautiful swirly etchings all around it, but there was suppose to be a secret compartment inside. There was a little slot at the top of it, hidden from most who didn’t know it was there. Using the end of a pin from her purse, Darcy was able to poke the little slot and the locket opened, revealing a few photos. One of them being James Buchanan Barnes, it was his military photo. She marveled at his short hair, clean face and easy-going smile.

It took some talking down on price with the shop owner before she was able to purchase the necklace for twenty-five bucks (a hundred and fifty to twenty-five wasn’t bad at all). The whole ride home she was bouncing in her seat, glancing over at the box with the locket delicately displayed inside it. She couldn’t wait ‘til she saw Bucky and showed him, even if on the off chance it didn’t convince him of her love then at the very least it proved to him how much she treasured him.

Darcy figured if all she could have was his friendship then she’d take it, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t fight tooth and nail for his love first. Even if that meant fighting the Black Widow for it.

Unfortunately, or fortunately it didn’t come down to a fight.

Darcy learned that Bucky was in the gym, training alone she was assured by Steve (she made sure to show him the locket) and she practically skipped on her way there only to stop dead in her tracks at what greeted her. Bucky was not alone in the gym, so very not alone. Natasha was with him (like fucking always) and they were wrapped around each other as they kissed. Darcy felt her heart beat faster though in her mind it was more like slowly beating to a stop. Bucky had a hand on Nat’s hip while his other was buried in her hair as she was wrapped around him tightly while they aggressively kissed each other.

A quiver started in her stomach and vibrated through her being as she watched them kiss. Everything she did…did it not mean anything to him? Did he think it was funny how Darcy practically threw herself at him? Did she mean anything to him, at all? The questions fogged up her mind, eating away at her soul and before she knew it she was in her room, back to the door as she slowly slid down it to cry into her knees. She sat there forever it felt like; her jeans were darken and stained with her tears. Her eyes felt swollen from her crying and all she wanted to do was crawl in bed to die.

Her heart was broken.

But she was stubborn and she had a mission, her eyes dropped to the white box with the locket inside. Darcy forced herself up to her feet, grabbing a sharpie pen and paper to write a note for the box, letting Bucky know that she found it and she hoped for the best for his new found relationship with Nat.

The walk to his room was like walking on death roll. She set the box in front of the door so he’d notice that it was there and turned to head back to her room where she could crawl into her bed for the mini coma of heart break and sadness that awaited her.

“Darcy?” she stopped walking when she heard her name called out. She hadn’t been expecting Bucky to be home, honestly she thought he be at Nat’s room, progressing their make-out session into something more. She could hear him reading the note from the rustle of the paper. Her shoulders shook as she waited for him to say something to her, anything.

Instead she felt a hand on her shoulder, slowly turning her around to face him. Bucky was showing more emotion at that moment than any she had ever witness of him. He looked tense, fear etched in the way that his eyes were widen, confusion in the way his lips were twisted in their frown and…hope shining at the core of his eyes.

Darcy managed to croak out, “I found the locket for you, it even has the compartment inside with your picture and your sister’s, mom’s, grandma’s and…” she trailed off, letting her eyes drift away from his.

“Darcy, I’m amazed you found the locket, doll. Really I am but…” Bucky lifted her head up by her chin so their gazes connected. “Natalia and I are not in a relationship, nor will we ever be.”

“But I saw you guys kissing in the gym!” Darcy yelled back, flinching at the volume of her voice as she clamped her hands over her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes again at the memory.

Bucky ran a hand through his hair, a sigh escaping his lips. “Doll, that meant nothing…I thought…I had to be sure I didn’t feel anything for her anymore that nothing would stand in my way…” Darcy felt utterly confused, her head started shaking.

“But you both looked like you liked it!” she accused, aiming to take a step back but Bucky’s hand on her shoulder kept her in place. He winced at her words, looking away from a moment to gather himself.

“It meant nothing though…I felt nothing for her, and ya wanna know why?” he asked, gazing back at her warmly. Hope started to swell in her chest but she was so afraid to hope.

“Why?” Darcy asked, her entire being hanging by a thread. Bucky smiled softly, his metal hand reached up to push back her hair from her face, tucking strands behind her ears.

“Because of you, because you love me and…” he shook his head, his smile wavering as he gulped and fear entered his face, “And I love you…damn it, Darcy Lewis, I am in love with you, only you,” Bucky declared loudly, placing his metal hand on her cheek, his thumb lightly brushing her skin.

“Really?” she couldn’t help but ask, a tear escaped her but a watery smile came to her lips. Bucky swiped away the rolling tear, his gaze still warm as his shoulders relaxed from their tense position and a genuine smile broke out on his entire face, he’d never done that before…ever.

“Yes, and you shouldn’t have had to prove anything to me, I should have taken your word for it,” Bucky admitted sadly, his smile slowly evaporating to a slight frown. Darcy shook her head bringing a hand up to touch his cheek.

“Yes, I did. Not everyone can believe to see; some people need to see to believe. I love you, James Buchanan Barnes,” Darcy announced again and this time there was no disbelief on his face, only acceptance and love.

“I love you,” he replied back.

He took a step closer to her, bringing them almost chest to chest as she tilted her head up to keep their gazes connected. Darcy felt her eyes become half-lidded as Bucky drew her face closer as he bent down towards her. Their lips connected softly, brushing against each other. She felt a jolt run through her at the touch, littering her stomach full of flutters as the kiss slowly transferred from soft and sweet to desperate and hot. Bucky’s tongue teased the line of her lips before slipping through to brush against her tongue, rubbing along it as they battled. His right hand cradled the back of her head, tangling through her hair while his right traced designs on the skin of her lower back where her shirt had ridden up.

Darcy kept her one hand on his cheek, brushing the skin there as she buried her other hand in his hair. It was softer than she thought it’d be. Their lips slanted against each other as they continued to kiss, the fight for dominance in Darcy’s mouth slowly coming to an end as breathing became an issue. Slowly she pulled away from him, letting her tongue lightly flick his upper lip as she barely contained herself from going back for more. Bucky looked to be feeling the same way especially after that move.

“We shouldn’t block the hall like this,” Darcy commented breathlessly, stroking her thumb on his cheek as she spoke. Bucky nodded, glancing around them to notice that no one had come along, or at least hadn’t made their presence known.

“Right, we should…continue this in my room?” Bucky looked uncertain as he asked, seemingly not wanting to push her. The gesture warmed her heart, it was so weird how only a few minutes ago she thought her whole world was over (melodramatic as that is), and now…once again she was sucker punched by love.

“Yes, lets,” Darcy responded back, smiling brightly when he intertwined their hands together as he led her back to his door. She watched as he reached down to pick up the box, looking it over briefly before popping the top off to gaze at the locket.

“It looks just as I remember,” he commented, glancing at her. “Perfect timing too.”

“Why’s that?” she asked in confusion as he dropped her hand to pull the locket out of the box, dropping the box to the ground carelessly. He turned to her fully, unclasping it to hold out to her. “No Bucky, I couldn’t,” Darcy waved off but he was shaking his head at her.

“Ya know Becky was only given it because I went to war, otherwise it would have been mine to give to my wife to go down the Barnes generation. You’re my girl, my love and I want you to wear this as a symbol of that love,” Bucky explained his voice full of emotion. After a moment she sighed then nodded, “Alright put it on me.”

The locket came to rest just above her chest, level to her heart. She touched the locket tenderly, a bloom of love and warmth seeping into her chest as her eyes watered, this time from happiness instead of sadness. “How do I look?”

Bucky smiled broadly, touching the locket then her hand to intertwine their fingers once more. He then brought her hand up to kiss the back of it, eyes boring heatedly into hers as he spoke with a deep timber in his tone, “Beautiful Doll.”

“I love you,” Darcy said again, bringing his hand back to press her lips to the back of his hand, “Now, let’s go inside so I can prove it again.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Very sappy at the end, but I am a romantic at heart. I hope y'all liked it and please let me know whatcha think!


End file.
